Police deny wrongdoing in arrest of NPP "chimp" radio commentator

President John Evans Atta Mills         Police in the Ashanti Region have strongly defended their decision to arrest a man who referred to the President as a chimpanzee. Radio commentator Adu Gyamfi, an activist of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), in a panel discussion on local radio station Fox FM called President Mills a chimp. The missile hurled at the President triggered a quick mass-up of several supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at the precincts of the radio station apparently to beat him up but the police subsequently picked him up. Lawyer Ace Ankomah has, however, questioned the manner in which the police effected the arrest and pointed that the insult is not an offense under the laws of the state. However, Ashanti Regional Police PRO Chief Inspector Mohammed Tanko tells Joy News Adu Gyamfi, also known as High Priest, is not being investigated for the alleged insult against the President. “We arrested him for offensive conduct contrary to section 207 of our criminal code. We did not arrest him for insulting the President,” Inspector Tanko said, and disclosed that Adu Gyamfi has been released on a police inquiry bail. The NPP activist will report on Wednesday 26, May 2010 to assist the police in their investigation, the police inspector said. “Offensive conduct is very broad but it depends on what the person did and the interpretation we are putting on it. You know, this is somebody who went on air and said disparaging things about our number one man, that is, the President,” he stressed. Inspector Tanko said the charge of offensive conduct is just right because Adu Gyamfi’s statement is “offensive to the President, it is offensive to the state and is offensive to even common sense.” Adu Gyamfi’s “offensive” statement follows comments by another NPP activist Nana Darkwa who caused a stir when he said ex-President Rawlings torched his own at Ridge. The case of Nana Darkwa is still in court as his lawyers and state prosecutors battle it out. Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana